1st Advantage Mortgage is a mortgage broker based in Uptown Charlotte. These are the places we lend, each with its own page covering the local picture: the housing market, which programs fit, and what the closing process looks like.
There is one office, in Charlotte. Everywhere else on this list is an area we serve rather than a branch. Applications, documents and signing happen online, and your closing takes place locally with an attorney or title company, depending on the state.
Cities and towns
States
Where we help borrowers, by state
North Carolina. Our home market. Beyond the Charlotte suburbs we serve the Triangle through Raleigh and Durham, the coast through Wilmington, and the Sandhills through Fayetteville. North Carolina closings are handled by attorneys, and our North Carolina home loans overview covers loan types and down payment assistance.
South Carolina. We serve the Upstate through Greenville, the Midlands through Columbia and the Lowcountry through Charleston, along with the Charlotte border towns of Fort Mill, Rock Hill and Indian Land. South Carolina closings also use attorneys. Read the South Carolina home loans overview for program background.
County guides. Beyond the city pages above, we have a guide for every county in North Carolina (100) and South Carolina (46). The largest markets include Wake County, Mecklenburg County, Guilford County, Durham County, Union County, Buncombe County, Forsyth County, New Hanover County in North Carolina and Charleston County, Greenville County, Horry County, York County, Beaufort County, Richland County in South Carolina.
Virginia. We serve Hampton Roads through Virginia Beach and central Virginia through Richmond. Many military families in Hampton Roads use VA loans, and each Virginia page explains how settlement agent closings work and which loan types fit local prices.
Texas. We serve Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. Texas closings take place at a title company, and special taxing districts such as MUDs and PIDs can change the monthly cost of a home, so each page flags what to ask before you make an offer.
Florida. We serve Jacksonville, Tampa and Orlando. Insurance, flood zones and condo rules shape Florida purchases, and our Florida home loans overview explains what to check early.
How a file moves when the property is far from Charlotte
You apply online, upload documents securely and sign disclosures electronically. We shop your file across several wholesale lenders, and we coordinate with your agent, the appraiser and the closing attorney or title company near the property. Because the property decides the rules, we start every conversation by asking for the address, then explain what is different about that state, county and neighborhood.
What changes when the house is not in North Carolina
North Carolina and South Carolina purchases and refinances are signed with attorneys. Texas files sign at a title company, and special districts such as municipal utility districts or public improvement districts can change the monthly cost, which is why each Texas city page asks you to read those notices before you treat a list price as a payment. Florida files often turn on an insurance quote, a flood designation or a condo master policy, which is why the Florida overview tells buyers to start there. Virginia pages explain settlement-agent closings and, in Hampton Roads, how a military calendar interacts with a VA file.
Those differences are why we start by asking for the address. A pre-approval letter sized for a Charlotte street should not be walked into a Houston MUD, a Tampa condo or a Virginia Beach flood designation without a second look. The application, document uploads and disclosures can still run online from wherever you are sitting.
One office, many closing tables
The firm works from a single Charlotte lobby. Everywhere else on this list is a market we serve, not another walk-in office. You do not need to come downtown to buy in Raleigh, Charleston, Dallas or Jacksonville. You will sign near the property, with whichever professional that state uses, while we coordinate with your agent, the appraiser and that closing office.
The list of written pages is not the same thing as the limit of where we can lend. If your property is somewhere else, ask. We will tell you quickly whether the company license and an officer’s personal record cover that address. Look up 2468711 on NMLS Consumer Access, and look up the officer named on the file the same way.
How to choose which local page to open first
If you know the city, open that city page. If you only know the county, open the county guide; every North Carolina county and every South Carolina county has one. If you are refinancing rather than buying, use the refinance page for that market when one exists, or start with whether refinancing pays and then name the address. If insurance or a special tax district is already the thing keeping you up at night, start with the explainer for that issue and then come back to the city page for the rest of the file.
County guides for the larger markets include Wake, Mecklenburg, Guilford, Durham, Union, Buncombe, Forsyth and New Hanover in North Carolina, and Charleston, Greenville, Horry, York, Beaufort and Richland in South Carolina. They exist so you do not have to read a neighboring city’s page and hope the tax office matches.
Not on the list?
The list above is where we have written a page, not the limit of where we can lend. If your property is somewhere else, call us and we will tell you straight away whether we can lend there.